We do the same things over and over–wake up, drive to work, work, drive home, eat, sleep. Our brains don’t put any of that into long term storage. Have you ever turned the corner onto your street on your way home from work, and realized you can’t remember anything about the drive? Only, newish, novel events get stored robustly. So, in retrospect it seems like the past year flew by, time is compressed in the long stretches of sameness, and only the differences stand out.

“Nothing” is a bit of a stretch, but it’s true that milestones pretty much stop happening for much of adulthood. I’ve traveled, I’ve dated, I’ve moved and changed jobs. But I don’t want to fall into a rut, so I’ve been working to give myself a new “milestone” every year. Last year I achieved a key certification for work. The year before, I learned to identify every country on a map. The year before that, I learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube. Other things have been learning to knit, identifying every nation’s flag, and learning to fly an airplane.

I’m not sure what to aim for this year, but I’m open to suggestions.